Falcon! I hissed mentally. Idiot!

He didn't respond.

Talk to me! Maybe I can give an excuse to the others!

I heard the sound of rapid, excited breathing, and then a disjointed explanation. Somebody's out here, it's a ghost! You all would never get here in time—

I waited, looking apprehensively at the others. The clock flashed 11:48 p.m., a repeated reminder of my companion's tardiness. We stood in uncomfortable silence as the tension radiated off Ghoulmaster's body. He stood with an elbow on the mantel and his eyes closed, perfectly still.

At 11:26, when the guests were out of the park but in the parking lot, three rides had mysteriously turned on by themselves at the same time: the ferris wheel, the parachutes, and Kingda Ka. Three of the tallest rides in the park…so they would be able to be seen from the farthest possible distance. Ice cream truck music had also been cranked up to an unbearable volume and blasted through the speakers for ten minutes. Fortunately, we were all inside our house at that time, so we couldn't be blamed. All of us except one.

I could barely process the content of Falcon's speech. I was instead focused on gathering up my nerve to speak in some manner that would not make it worse for my friend. Hearing nothing further from him, I straightened and took a few steps to the fireplace. "Ghoulmaster, I…I heard from Falcon."

He opened his eyes and slowly turned his head toward me. "So…he responds to you and not to me."

I couldn't answer that, so just continued. "I'm not sure what he's doing, but he's running, busy with some situation—"

"Of course he is."

"It sounds like he has a big lead as to what's been happening," I hurried on. "I think he's involved in some kind of chase, and—and he says that there is a ghost involved, and that we wouldn't be able to get to wherever he is in time to help."

Johnny interjected excitedly, "So it is a ghost! I had been wondering if it was that old guy Joe that was—"

I shook my head at him slightly. Just blend in with the furniture until Falcon gets here, Jaywalker.

He rolled his eyes, but kept silent. Ghoulmaster returned to his former position.

Just then Falcon ran through the door, turning into his bodily form and stopping at the far wall from momentum, lifting his hands to take the brunt of the impact. "He's long gone by now," he said breathlessly to the room. "I was right by the Big Wheel on my way back here, and when it went on, I saw only the back of him from my peripheral vision, and I knew that it would be my only ch—"

"Shadow." A soft voice, but firm.

Shadow Falcon turned abruptly, the excitement draining from his features when he saw the look of quiet determination on his leader's face. "Ghoulmaster…."

"You chose to communicate with Billasty instead of me. Perhaps because you did not want my opinion on what you should do in that situation."

"But did you really expect me to…" Falcon halted his sentence and met Ghoulmaster's gaze, his posture beginning to soften in resignation.

Ghoulmaster seemed to be the only one in the room at ease with the silence. He searched Falcon's face, finding a mixture of wariness, disappointment, and fear. Ghoulmaster walked towards him and touched his arm lightly just above the elbow. He said softly, "I would rather we do this without any building resentment, Will."

A streak of defiance sparked in Falcon's eyes, and diminished. He nodded.

"Go downstairs and wait for me there," Ghoulmaster said gently.

Falcon turned and obeyed, opening the door to the basement and disappearing from view. Ghoulmaster turned and addressed the rest of us. "When we come back, this incident will not be spoken of again." He joined Falcon walking down the steps, and shut the door behind him.

Annabel looked at me wide-eyed, an eyebrow raised. I put an arm around her and squeezed. The sound of footsteps receded, and we briefly heard muffled voices, followed by the swish and thud of Falcon's punishment.

"Oh, this is fantastic," Johnny muttered sarcastically. "This is what I've got to look forward to if I ever break curfew."

"Falcon's been here long enough to know what the risks of his behavior were," I responded. "Ghoulmaster's only got a few rules, and they're not difficult."

Chester flinched as the rhythmic impact continued, and started to sneeze. "I see both sides," he managed.

I attempted to mentally dissociate, but I worried for my friend. He wasn't a particularly prideful man, but I hoped he wouldn't feel any lingering embarrassment from this. I smiled despite myself as I remembered his stuffy entrance to the house all those years ago, the stiff politeness we'd had to endure until we proved ourselves worthy of his trust. There was a danger that those barriers of his might go back up.

Footsteps climbed back up the stairs, and we all tried our best to appear disinterested. Ghoulmaster appeared, taking his seat, and Shadow Falcon stiffly closed the door and remained standing there, wiping sweat off his face with the end of his shirt. He blew his hair out of his eyes, and made eye contact with a few of us. Part of his punishment would be staying in his bodily form for the rest of the night along with the rest of us.

"Ghoulmaster has asked me to brief you all now," he began, his usually strong accent slightly dulled from the pain.